Sloan @ Bowery Ballroom
Canadian greats did something different on their 11th album, Commonwealth, giving each of the four members a side to do with as they please. It's another winner in one of the strongest discographies of the last 20 years. Tonight is an "evening with Sloan" including an intermission and upwards of 30 songs (including Andrew Scott's 17-minute "Forty-Eight Portraits").

Caribou, Jessy Lanza @ Webster HallOur Love, Caribou's recent followup to 2010's excellent Swim, is less focused on the pop songs that album was, and instead heavier on the electronics and great in its own way. Tonight's his first of two NYC shows on his tour with Our Love collaborator/Hyperdub-signed Jessy Lanza.

Will Butler @ Baby's All Right
Will Butler of The Arcade Fire (and Academy Award nominee) is currently finishing up his debut solo album. He'll preview some of that tonight at this early, sold-out show.

Orange Cassettes, Ludwig Persik, Cathy @ Baby's All Right
Aughts-era NYC music scene survivors Anton Harmony (aka Radio 4's Anthony Roman) and Mod (of Elefant) have formed a new project called Orange Cassettes whose debut single "Go In The Light" will definitely remind some of the DFA salad days. Tonight's their live debut.

Woolen Men, The Lures, Plates of Cake @ Cake Shop
Portland, OR's Woolen Men have a minimalistic style that owes much to Wire and early Flying Nun, with no extraneous instrumentation getting in the way. They're good and this is your last chance to see them in NYC on this go-round.

Johnny Marr, Meredith Sheldon @ Gramercy Theatre
Recalling his prolific days with The Smiths, Johnny Marr has banged out two albums in a year's time. They're not at his 1985 peak, but they're not bad either. He's a lot of fun live, and peppers hit sets with oldies -- any chance to see him play "The Headmaster Ritual" is worth considering. His first of two sold-out NYC shows.

Big Muff Radio, Honduras, Dances, Journalism, Grey Idols @ Silent Barn
Honduras bring a lot of different influences to the table. A little garage, yes, but there's '80s/'90s British indie too. While it may not be anything you haven't exactly heard before, Honnduras write very hooky songs and, as importantly, the bring a real energy to the performance. Their new EP, titled Break, is out now.

Onelinedrawing, Zvl, Mount Gomery, Natural Stranger @ Saint Vitus
Jonah Matranga's been in many bands (Far, New End Original, Gratitude, etc) and he's currently in a band with J. Robbins called Moral Mazes that hearkens back to his heavier '90s sound. But Onelinedrawing is his chance to strip things down, and he'll be in that mode tonight. Onelinedrawing returns to NYC later in the month and J. Robbins will be at that one too.

Electric Youth, Midnight Faces @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
The first time a lot of people heard Electric Youth was probably their collaboration with College, "A Real Hero," which appeared on the Drive soundtrack, but they've since signed to Secretly Canadian and put out their debut album that showed they've still got plenty more of that quality synth pop in them.

As most people figured out ahead of time, Screaming Females were the "Special Guest" headliners at Death by Audio on Sudnay night (11/9). Pujol, who they had been touring with, were playing, both bands had just hit Asbury Lanes, it just made sense. However, most people didn't know that there was another surprise on the show -- Ted Leo + Pharmacists, who played their first show together in over a year. Talk about a nice bonus! Shellshag started out the night which also marked the beginning of the last two weeks of Death by Audio's existence. Pictures from the whole night, including a few from next door's Death by Art installation, are in this post.

In other DbA news, a few more shows for this week are now up on the venue's website:

Freelance writer and DJ Maria Sherman gave us a list of her favorites of 2012, including top shows and her favorite label. Check out her list below.

On that list is Merchandise's performance at 538 Johnson, one of the few early performances to feature now-permanent drummer Elsner Nino (also of Shoxx). The new-look Merchandise will perform twice at 285 Kent this week, including tonight's show WITH Night Sins, Pharmakon, Herzog Rising AND Shoxx.

Maria Sherman's Best of 2012 and a video of Merchandise from 538 Johnson earlier this year, below...

Karp was a post-hardcore band from Tumwater, Washington, that formed in 1990 and lasted until 1998. The band was formed by Chris Smith aka Chris "Slayer", Jared Warren, and Scott Jernigan. They released three full length albums entitled Mustaches Wild, Suplex, and Self Titled LP. (Note that "Self Titled LP" is a literal title. The title is not "Karp." Even the CD version of the record is titled "Self Titled LP.") They also released several EPs and 7" records. Their recordings were released by several Northwest-related labels such as K Records, Kill Rock Stars, and Punk In My Vitamins. Karp managed to mix the terror of hardcore, The Melvins, and Black Sabbath with an ear for pop-influenced song assembly. The band name is inspired from a newsletter/zine that Chris Smith put out in highschool and is an acronym that stands for "Kill All Redneck Pricks".

Members went on to play with Tight Bro's from Way Back When, The Whip, Dead Air Fresheners, and Big Business (currently playing with The Melvins). Drummer Scott Jernigan died in a boating accident on June 10, 2003.

As previously discussed, Kill All Redneck Pricks is a documentary that examines the much missed band, and debuts in NYC tomorrow, 1/6, at The Spectacle Theater (South 3rd near Bedford) with two showings (7:30 and 9:30). After the movie head to an after-party at Death By Audio featuring Vaz and Pygmy Shrews. Check out a trailer, some clips from the film, and a list of other cities the movie is playing in, below. If you can't make it, order a copy on DVD (with or without an exclusive tee) via the documentary website.

Spectacle Theater will host a bunch of music related films in the coming weeks as part of "ROCKUARY", "music-themed special events and films of all kinds- ranging from features, documentaries, shorts, remixes, live performances, and many special guests." The current slate of films include a documentary on Friends Forever, Shamans of The Blind Country (which will be scored by Diamond Terrifier), a documentary on Morrissey's impact on Latino culture (Passions Just Like Mine), Deadlock (which was scored by Can) and much much more. Head to the Spectacle site for more details.